


MEGAMAN.EXE: COPY REFLECTION

by TheColonel



Category: Rockman DASH Series | Mega Man Legends, Rockman ZX | Mega Man ZX, Rockman.EXE | Mega Man Battle Network
Genre: Angst, Computers, Crossover, Depression, F/F, Gay, Lesbian Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-04-07 18:38:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14087157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheColonel/pseuds/TheColonel
Summary: An anxious, punkish 18-year-old Tron Bonne living in Creamland struggles towards her goals of becoming a world-famous cyber criminal alongside her friendly but mischievous navi, Aile.exe. The servbots eat curry.





	1. Dead End

The room is dark. A tall girl with long, brown hair lies asleep on the floor. From the distance, she hears a voice. "Aile." She is awake. But her eyes refuse to open. Her arms and legs will not move. It's not that she can't move them. But she can't get up. Finally, her eyelids inch open, showing her emerald-green eyes, but their color is fading. She feels like she's straining every muscle in her body, and her limbs finally begin to move. But their movements are feeble, and weak. She can't even lift herself up. "I..... I'll make it..... I will....." The darkness closes in around her. Even as she struggles harder, the light in her eyes has faded away. And her strength vanishes. Soon, her body is beginning to fade, too. She can barely lift her head to see her feet, her legs, her chest... her entire body go transparent.

She has no organs. No veins. No heart. Her insides, her guts, her bones, are fake. She is a finely crafted wooden doll. And her hollow body is filled with cold circuitry, cables and wires threaded and extending up into the sky. She painfully twists her face into a smile.

"H... e... h... w e l l , c ' m o n t h e n . . . l e t ' s . . . g e t . . . g o i n g . . ."

"Goodbye." The hand that had been carrying her, giving her the strength to move, to live, lets go. She falls through the floor. Through so many. The world itself has given up on her, refused her its support. As she plummets, the world expands ever bigger, brighter.

No... she gets smaller. She fades away. As her body vanishes into nothingness, she asks why she ever bothered to wear a smile when she didn't even have the strength to hold it.

 

"M-miss Aile?" Aile awakens to the big, blocky yellow face of one of the servbots. "W-whuh?!" The servbot jumps back in surprise as Aile gets up. "O-o-oh, I'm sorry for waking you, Miss Aile! It's just... you looked like you were having a very bad dream!" Aile wipes off her brow. "I-it's okay, you, uh... weren't far off." On closer inspection, Aile notices that the servbot is holding a handful of flowers. "You're... 03, right?" The servbot, in surprise, blushes and looks away. "I-I'm v-v-v-very grateful you'd know who I am, M-m-miss Aile!" Aile smiles and pats them on the head. "Thanks for wakin' me up, li'l pal." She bends down and gives the servbot a kiss on the cheek. 03 nervously runs away, their yellow head having turned bright red. Stretching her arms out, Aile looks at the time. "Well, looks like it's time to wake up, anyway!"

 

A cramped, dirty bedroom covered in computer parts and PETs surrounds a silver-haired young woman in a tank top, lying on top of a messy old bed and snoring louder than the roaring computer fans. Suddenly, a voice screams out from a PET lying on the table next to her bed. "HEY TRON, TIME TO WAKE UP!" Tron's eyes finally peek open. "Huuuuuh...? Stupid alarm... Aile... Ailarm..." Tron sits up, rubs her eyes and yawns while stretching her arms out. She sits still for a few seconds. She then shoots Aile the usual questions.

"Can I go back to sleep?" "No."

"Can I go straight to the computer?" "Nope!"

"Can I eat breakfast?" "Not sure why you'd have to ask!"

Tron stands up, stretches out a bit more, grabs Aile's PET and then heads for the door, but nearly trips on a cord connecting one of the 40-odd PETs lying around the room. "HOLY SHIT!" After regaining her balance and taking a breath, she ducks down and holds the PET. Her voice sleepy and irritated, she asks "You boys okay?" Tiny voices respond from within the PET, shouting "P-please don't worry about us, Miss Tron!" One isolated voice from a PET across the room shouts "I'm sorry for getting in the way of your foot, Miss Tron!" Tron sighs in relief. Aile giggles happily. "What the hell are you giggling at?"

"Nothin', I just think you should watch your feet more carefully. Or clean up your room." Tron grumbles. Putting the linked-up servbot PET down, she walks out of her room, grabbing a jacket and a pair of skull earrings off from the side as she leaves.

 

Daylight shines into the living room of Tron's house, the tv left on as the Creamland news cycle goes by, talking about the daily economic decline and the country’s struggles to catch up with other countries' level of tech and net development. Tron filters most of it out while pouring a bowl of cereal. Aile relaxes inside the PET in Tron's back pocket and ponders important things. "Hey, Tron, how are your legs feeling?"

"Huh? Um... a bit tired." Aile nods. "I guess you can take a bit of a rest today, then." Tron grumbles. "What's your whole deal with that stuff, anyway? I don't need buff arms and legs to operate you." Aile gives a sly grin back. "That hasn't stopped you from listening to me and working out anyway, though, huh?" Tron gags. "Gah! That's besides the point!" Aile giggles. "You're a young woman, Tron. You gotta look after yourself! You spend months cooped up in your house, and you’re gonna put on a few more pounds!" "Ghgh!" Tron grunts from a gut-punch of regret, remembering how she recounted to Aile about the past few wasted months of her youth and the death of her social life. She slams her face into the palms of her hands. "That was a mistake..." Aile giggles innocently once again.

Tearing herself away from her own regret, Tron drearily goes back to spooning crummy cereal into her mouth. Finding the silence draining, she turns up the volume on the tv to hear whatever news report is on in hopes of it drowning out her own embarrassment.

"And here, we have footage of a recent interview in Electopia with the famous professor, Dr. Hikari--"

Tron slams down her spoon, darts her hand to the remote and smashes the tv off. There's a moment of pure, dreadful silence. "Aile, we're gonna do some work tonight." Aile awkwardly answers "A-alright..."

 

The blue light from Tron's computer monitor glows against her eyes in her dark bedroom, the curtains drawn over the window. Her back slightly arched over her dusty old keyboard where half of the letters on the keys have faded, she taps away bringing up windows of the servbots going about their PETs. Some of the servbots are out doing who-knows-what on the net, but others just run around their own little digitized space having fun. Aile's PET lies on top of the tower, jacked into the computer through another port.

"Phew..." Tron pulls out a pair of glasses, puts them on and eases back in her chair. For a few minutes, she just watches the servbots. In one window, servbots 22, 23, 24 and 25 are frantically running around a small kitchen, attempting to cook food. 22 valiantly mans the grill, acting as head chef, while 23 and 25 are panicking as they search for a fire extinguisher to put out the fire they've cooked up on the pan. 24 simply stands by, viewing the cook's skill in awe and admiration. Tron worriedly remarks, "I-is that why that PET's fan is so loud...?" Aile appears on-screen. At first Tron assumes she's going to help them out, but then after exchanging some words with 22, Aile sits next to 24 and intently watches them cook. Tron sighs and flips to another window.

03 is sitting alone in a garden, picking flowers. Tron can't recognize most of the flowers they have, other than some cyber-iceberg roses, but she can't help but smile a bit at how happy they look. Looking closer, she notices some other servbots in the distance behind them. 05 is watering plants further back in the garden, while 08 is sleeping on the ground next to 09, who's reading a mystery novel with a pipe in their mouth. 11 lies on their belly next to them, playing something on a little gameboy. Behind some white fences, 33 and 37 are playing a board game, but not one Tron can recognize. "Are they playing... chess, or something?" As she zooms in closer, she realizes it's actually shogi. They both look very tense, and it seems like they're very far into their match. Tron isn't sure what instigated the game, but she wishes them both luck and flips over to another window.

On top of a tall building overlooking a city in the midst of a dark, rainy night, 17, wearing a long brown coat, is staring down 19, who's wearing an oversized ten-gallon hat. In the next window, 21 is holding a work-out session for some of the other servbots. In yet another window, 39 is wearing a fake beard and giving a lecture. In the window after that, 01 and 02 are skating around a small park while many others watch on in astonishment at their skills.

Suddenly, they all hear a sort of cyber-bell ring. 03 finishes gathering flowers, 37 flips the shogi table as 33 quickly jumps out of the way in terror, 17 and 19 high-five each other, and all the other groups of servbots finish up what they're doing and bring out tables, some of them walking off into another window. Then, across all the PETs, a number of servbots wearing chef hats walk in and serve bowls of curry. Many of the recipients react with joy. Others... are a bit disappointed. "Curry night." Aile pops back up again, lying down in her own PET. "They're always split, never goes as smoothly as pizza night."

"So... what're we 'working' on tonight?"

"Grabbing green mystery data on the Creamland Net."

"'Kay, same as always, then."

"Y-yep!" Tron pretends to ignore Aile as she rolls her eyes. "Well... I'm glad you're not doing anything that'll put them in danger, at least."

"Why? You care about them?"

"Me? I think they're pretty cute, yeah, but c'mon, you made them. Don't you, like, view 'em as close as family?"

They pause for a moment. And then Aile realizes what she just said. Tron grits her teeth and tries to hide her face. Aile can barely hear her murmur out two words.

"Heh. Funny."

They sit there, silently, while the servbots finish eating. Tron wipes her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. Suddenly, with great energy, she reaches and grabs a microphone off of her desk and, at the top of her voice, shouts "AAAAAAAAALL RIGHT, BOYS! GET YOURSELVES READY! WE'RE GONNA RAISE SOME GODDAMN HELL TONIGHT!"

 

Around an hour after everyone's finished scavenging around the ice corners of CreamNet for scraps of zenny and they've all returned to their PETs, Tron is hanging her head. "... Aaaaaaah... 2000 zenny from one whole fucking run... why the hell does a low-traffic area like Creamland have less and less every time...???" Aile wants to mention that Tron keeps sending out massive groups to gather it all every few nights, but that wouldn't really accomplish anything to make her feel better. "Hey, Tron. Sorry about... earlier." "Huh...? Oh... don't worry 'bout it. I know you weren't trying to like, start anything. Ugh... it's not even worth the risk we take sending everyone out at this point... if the officials catch on, we could get in trouble..." Aile laughs nervously. "Hahah, uh, yeah... it'd be bad if anyone caught on..." There's a moment of silence.

"Hey, uh... Tron? Feeling good enough to run by the convenience store tomorrow?"

"Sure...? Why?"

"Well, you're outta cigarettes, for one."

Tron checks her pocket. "Shit... you're right. Okay. Let's go in the morning, I guess."

Aile suddenly has a big, cute smile. "Yeah! Alright!"

Tron gets off her chair and walks over next to her bed, taking off her earrings and putting them on a table, questioning Aile as she does so. "Why the heck are you so happy...?"

"No reason! I've just got a feeling tomorrow's gonna be a better day, that's all." Aile sits down on her butt.

Tron takes off her jacket and tosses it to the side. "... You're a real weirdo sometimes, you know."

"Hehe. Well, I am your navi." Aile falls softly on her back.

Tron crashes backwards onto her bed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean...?"

Aile closes her eyes, waving over to some Servbots in the distance. "Get to sleep, Tron."

"Fine, fine... happy-go-lucky little... weirdo..." Tron nods off to sleep.

Aile spends a while lying there with her eyes closed. Her thoughts wander off from puzzling out what Tron said as she nodded to sleep, to worrying about whether she'd have the same dream as last night. After a few minutes, she opens her eyes and restlessly walks off to the Net to explore, and hopefully meet up with someone to help her take her mind off of things. Sure feels like she needs it.


	2. Too Close!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tron meets a beautiful princess. Will she survive?

"Is that... the Princess...?!?"

The street corner was dressed in a layer of snow. Creamland's winters were cold, but it's princess was a warm, kind girl. Tron was just a loud-mouthed hacker, but her heart couldn't resist feeling a strange sense of warmth upon seeing her beautiful Princess. Indeed, as a woman of her country, the Princess' radiant beauty had Tron floored. Her golden hair fluttering in the chilling winter wind, her brown casual wear accentuated her elegant grace; her calm blue eyes filled with a sense of comfort, and her gentle hands, beautifully soft, Tron wished she could reach out and hold them. As the royal beauty's lips opened to speak, the punkish hacker's fragile little heart almost skipped a beat.

"W...what up, my good pal?"

Fwooooosh. A gust of wind blew Pride's cap off of her head, onto Tron's face. They stood there for a moment, awkwardly, as Tron waited to wake up, only to realize there was no escape.

Then, Tron raised a hand and removed the cap from her face. Stiffly, she bowed down, her legs shaking, and offered Pride's hat back to her with both hands. "Uh..." Blushing nervously, Pride took her hat from the shaking girl's hands. Immediately, Tron bolted away. "W-w-wait!!!" Within moments however, Tron, paying no attention to where her feet landed, slipped on the icy sidewalk, doing an impressive forward flip and landing on her head, her long snow white hair drawing a perfect half-circle in the air. "Oh my! ARe yOu oKaaaYy.......??" As Tron's consciousness faded, her mind hazily wondered why there were suddenly two beautiful princesses rushing to her aid.

Tron blacked out.

 

Tron's head felt warm, like it was resting on a pillow. She felt a soft, gentle hand on her forehead. As she opened her eyes, she could barely make out that she was lying on a park bench, her head resting on Pride's lap. Her head resting on Pride's lap... Her head resting on Pride's lap...

"GAH!!!" Tron bolted upwards in a panic, Pride pulling away in surprise. "Oh! You're awake?! Are you alright? You... took a very rough landing." Tron could feel her heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to crash. "I'MOKAY!!!" She then realized she was feeling a surge of throbbing pain on the back of her head, and trying to cover it with her hands, fell to the side, Pride swiftly moving to catch her. Tron's face burned redder than lava. Pride giggled. "Really... I'm sorry that I scared you like that, if that's what happened. You just... looked very, uh... I simply wanted to talk... casually... with someone..."

"...S'cool... t-thanks... for, uh..." Tron could barely muster a word. Pride looked at her, surprised, almost astonished that the shy woman she'd been nursing on her lap for almost five minutes finally said anything, but happy that she didn't seem to truly be terrified of her. "... M'name's Tron..." Pride gave a warm smile. "It's very nice to meet you, Tron. You may call me... well... you probably already know, but... you can just call me Pride!" Tron always knew the Princess was a beautiful person, but what she'd never have expected was for her to have such a frustratingly cute smile.

"...mmit..."

"Hm?"

"The... heck..." She could barely think, but thinking was the only thing keeping her from drifting off again. "... So warm..."

_"Why do you feel so warm?"_

Tron didn't know why, but for whatever reason, tears started rolling down from her eyes.

 

They stood in front of an old blue house situated in the midst of a small neighborhood among many other old houses. "So... this is where you live?" Pride had walked Tron back to her house, holding her hand the whole way. "Uh... y-yeah." The entire walk, Tron had just been shifting her eyes around, hoping nobody would look. Pride told her not to worry along the way--that nobody would recognize her in such a casual outfit. But Tron thought that was a load of crap. How was anything about that cute brown get-up casual? She was melting the goddamn snow just by wearing it! "Well, uh..."

"May I come in?"

Tron blinked. "W-what?"

"Well, it was quite a long walk here. May I... ask to be invited into your house, now that we are here?"

Tron blinked again. What the hell? Why is THE PRINCESS, asking to come into her house? "S-sure???" Why the hell is Tron actually inviting her in!?

"Hehe, then I graciously accept."

Inside, Tron's house was... dark, and a bit plain, aside from odd pieces of tech lying around. Light came in through the windows and illuminated from some small monitors. "... Hm..." As Pride surveyed the front room, the dusty tv room next to it, and the (from Tron's perspective) filthy kitchen, it was at that moment that Tron's head decided her home was unforgivably messy...

... But for some reason, Pride actually seemed okay with it?! "... Well, this is certainly a very different place from one of the rooms at the castle. But, I suppose everyone has their own way of living. Heh." Tron blinked. "Um... make yourself at home, then, I guess...?" Suddenly, a thought popped into Tron's head. "O-oh yeah, I'll go, uh, get you something to eat, and a drink." Pride looked at her and smiled. "Please, get yourself something as well, Tron. I'd love to share a drink with you." Tron blinked again. "S-sure..."

While Tron rooted around the fridge, Pride walked over to the couch and sat down. "So, um... what do you do for fun, Tron?" Tron awkwardly tried to answer while pushing aside old cans of soup. "Uhhhm... well... surf the net, mostly...?" It's at this moment that Tron realized Aile was right when she told her she should clean out the fridge. She rarely dug this deep in. "Surfing the net, huh? Hm... that makes sense..." "Eh?" "O-oh, excuse me, I was just, er, thinking to myself!"

Tron shrugs and pulls out two cans of beer that she unearthed from the back of the fridge. She recognizes the brand. "Yuck. This is the kind of crap Teisel would drink... well, looks like I don't got a choice. Hmph. Guess I'd better grab something to eat, too..."

While waiting for Tron, Pride poked around the tv room a bit. To her surprise, there was a pretty fancy HDTV. Old, and a bit dusty, but fancy. Underneath it, she spotted some old game consoles. One of them was a Playstation with two memory cards on the front, one with "TRON" awkwardly scribbled on in marker, and the other with an equally legible "TEESLE". Sitting above that was a PS2, something Pride was a bit more familiar with as it had been a popular system in Creamland for a while. And next to that was a little white system she believed she recognized as a Super Nintendo? It looked... Super Nintendo-y, she supposed.

As Pride was leaning down to touch the system, Tron came in carrying two beers and a big bag of potato chips. "Uh..." "E-excuse me!" Embarrassed, Pride quickly retreated back to the couch. "H-hey, you don't gotta apologize!... Want me to turn it on?" Tron sets down the drinks and the bag of chips on the table and bends down to turn on the console. "It's not, well, a real one... I kinda built this thing myself, so the materials are crap. Getting a legit one is too friggin pricy..."

After hitting the power, she presses a button on the side of the TV and it lights up, showing a menu. Pride doesn't really follow these things, but she hears enough roaming the net to understand that Tron's muttering is about it being some kind of homemade version of that mini reproduction console that was being advertised a while back. Tron looks at the screen for a second, and then nervously looks over at Pride, blushing. "Uh... wanna play something? I've got some co-op games on here." Pride, too, starts to blush. "Ah, well... I haven't played many video games before..."

Tron's eyes sparkle as she sees an opportunity. "H-hey! Don't worry about it! If you have trouble, that'll make two of us! Heh, I'm no good, either!" Wait, is that what she really wanted to say? Tron isn't sure at the moment, but she's pretty sure that's not what she was trying to get at. But... Pride is giggling! "Well, if that's the case, I'll love to!" It looks like it worked anyway, but Tron still feels kind of embarassed!

"Aaaaaalright, then... Here you g--" As Tron hands one of the controllers over to Pride, she lets her guard down and for just a second, her hand brushes against Pride's fingers. Pride doesn't notice, but the shock causes Tron's arm to freeze, and her hand to drop the controller into Pride's hand! "Thank you!" Tron is still reeling from the shock of coming into contact with Pride's soft, gentle fingers! What a hopeless girl! "Y-yeah, y-y-you're w-welcome..."

After shifting thorugh some menus, asking Pride what game she'd like to play and getting a resounding lack of an answer, Tron decides to load up one of her favorites. "So, uh... You ever play any of those video games about beating up a bunch of bad guys?" Pride shakes her head. "That sounds pretty gruesome... Do you have any good ones?" A big, excited grin comes over Tron's face. "Well, I've got a few personal favorites! You ask me, the best games always got robots!"

And so, they spent the next hour eating potato chips and playing Armored Warriors. While Tron picked a stubby little robot, Pride played as a big bruiser, saying it reminded her of her navi. When all was said and done, Tron only ever grabbed laser blades, and she ended up using more continues than Pride at a rate of 36 to 19. As the ending sequence of the game played out, Tron looked over at Pride. She looked like she had fun. Satisfied, she laid back in her seat and popped open her beer. "Goddamn, I love this game! Wait, I should've plugged in Aile so we could do a three-player... oh, whatever. She's probly asleep, anyway, she's been real quiet..." She takes a sip of beer and almost gags. "Blagh! Teisel and his goddamn pisswater beer..." Tron stares disgustedly at the can for a moment. Then, she chugs down some more.

"Aile is... your navi, correct?" Pride asks curiously, popping open her own can. "Uh... yeah. She buzzes off a lot at night. Tries to do it when I'm asleep, but she can't hide a secret from me... especially when she ends up napping through the day some days. Sheeesh, and she thinks she can look after me, dammit." Tron chugs down more beer. Pride, cautiously, preparing her taste buds, takes a tiny sip.

After a few moments, she decides that while Tron is somewhat correct... it is, perhaps, just an acquired taste, and she then downs half the can. "Hahh... well, I'm sure she doesn't mean anything harmful by it. Sometimes people just... need their own space, I suppose." Pride's tone of voice shifts radically, but Tron barely notices. She's too much of a lightweight to keep flipping out about everything the princess does when she's this drunk. "Yeah... I guess you're right. I'm just kinda worried she'll like, fuck off one night and then it'll be like... POOF... y'know..." Pride puts a hand on Tron's face, who just thought she was too drunk to care about a cute princess in her house, but it turns out, almost just melted. "Let's play some more dumb video games, Tron."

"Y-yeahletsdothat" Tron sputtered out, fumbling through the menu with her controller over to Cyberbots. Going into two player versus mode, Pride asked a question. "Hey, Tron. What character do you recommend I play as?" As Tron finishes her beer in an attempt to get drunk enough to really stave off her nervousness, she blushes and answers Pride's question to the best of her abilities. "Uhm... I usually pick Devilotte..." Pride hums. "Is she that princess...? Hm. She's cute." Tron realizes she's going to need a whole lot more beer. Like a flash of hope, she remembers that Teisel stored a few dozen packs of the stuff they were drinking. Stumbling off of the couch, she says "I'll b-be right b-back..." Pride gives her a lethally cute smile. Tron can't survive much more of this.

 

Tron enters back into the room carrying three dozen cans of shitty beer. "How the SHIT did Teisel fit all of this in that fridge?!?" After slamming it all down on the table, she looks over at Pride. Unexpectedly, Tron realizes she's gone from gently sipping her drink to guzzling it all down like a beast. The rate at which she's finished the can she was previously savoring is impressive, and terrifying. Pride looks up at Tron, just slightly tipsy. "Hey, Tron..." Tron accepts this. "Heeey, princess..." She grabs a beer, flops down on the couch and grabs her controller while attempting to guzzle alcohol at a pace equal to that of Pride's. She is unsuccessful. As Tron looks over at the tv, she realizes that Pride hasn't moved her character an inch. Somewhere, her brain decides that if she can beat Pride at this, she'll impress her somehow, in some way. Maybe. "P-princess, grab your controller... LET'S DO IT!!!"

"Hoh- _hic_ -hokay...!"

Tron is immediately pushed down by Pride glomping her from the back. Shifting her head over, she realizes half of the beer she grabbed is now sitting in a pile over in the corner of the room, empty. She's angry at Pride for drinking it all before she could, but more than that, she feels like she's literally going to melt into an actual puddle if the princess keeps hugging so close to her. It's a complicated feeling that Tron's brain is having a lot of trouble trying to articulate, doubly so because Pride's arms are wrapped around her in a way that isn't quite uncomfortable but make it very hard for her to think. Especially when Pride's huge, flowing golden hair has flapped right in her face and she's trying her absolute hardest not to think about it. In every way, Tron has been trapped in a prison of her own mind, but also a prison of being trapped in the extremely comfortable grip of an extremely beautiful girl who she didn't know she felt an attraction to until four hours ago. Well, it would be comfortable if Pride wasn't so heavy, and lying on top of her back. In fact, the longer Tron stayed this way and thought about her situation, the more it became difficult for her to breathe. As it so happens, the more Tron thought to herself about this situation, being trapped in the grip of an extremely beautiful girl, the more she realized how much thought she was dedicating to thinking about how she was trapped in the grip of a beautiful girl and she wasn't letting go and was kind of suffocating under both her giant hair and the pressure of her entire body with her soft chest pressed up against her back and she was sort of okay with that and

And then Tron really, actually couldn't breathe. "HEYPRIDECOULDYOULETGOFORASECONDPLEASEMOVE" Pride's eyes opened slightly, and she let Tron go free. Tron sat up and took deep breathes, in and out. "OKAY, okay, okay... Pride... uh... okay let's try again--"

And Pride attacks once again, this time from the front. "WAIT A SEC THIS ISN'T WHAT I MEANT" Tron was okay with this. But she also panicked, because this time she could breathe and thus, had lost her excuse. She was completely trapped. Finally, Pride said a word. "Hey, Tron..." Tron didn't even know who Tron was anymore, but she couldn't tell Pride to stop talking because her voice was really soft and she could hear it really close. "You're suck... and politics is cute... it really, like you I...?" Tron didn't know whether to feel insulted, partially because her entire mind was frozen and she didn't know if she could ever make it reboot. She tried to squeak out a response. "W-wha"

And then Pride fell asleep. Tron slowly shifted out of her grip and off of the couch. And then she fainted. As Tron's mind spun around, putting her to sleep just so it could process the events of the night, Tron didn't know if she was alive anymore. After some thinking, she came to a conclusion:

She was dead.

 

In the morning, Tron was tucked in a blanket on the couch. Aile's PET was sitting on the table next to her. She mumbled to herself. "Where's Pride...?"

"Headed home. You both got too drunk, passed out, then she left a bit late. She left her email on the table, though." Aile quickly answered. "Why do I have Princess Pride's email?" Tron mumbled. "Because she liked spending time with you. You should try and both be more sober next time." Tron slowly pulled herself up. "I can't be in the same country as the princess and stay sober."

"The way you put it kinda sounds like an insult."

"I'm not calling her a bad princess. I'm just gay."

Aile's eyes almost pop out in shock. "Wow. You stare at cute girls all the time, so I felt like, I dunno, you already knew."

"Those were drawings, I didn't actually get to feel any other girls pressing up against me in my entire life. Well, except once. I guess that did feel nice. Yeah. Aile, I think I like girls."

"You do, Tron."

"Aile, I think I might be a lesbiam."

"Yes, Tron. You are."

"Lesbian."

"Yep."

"Aile, what does it mean when I think someone else's boobs feel good?"

"Go back to sleep, Tron."

"I'm going to sleep forever."

"You need to go for your daily run at 3PM."

"I can't use my legs while I'm thinking about legs. Legs are really hot. Pride's legs were really heavy. Pride had really strong arms. But they also felt soft. When Pride touched my face her hand felt really soft."

Aile admits defeat. Tron has become too horny.

"Gggh."

"Are you okay, Tron?"

"Guh..."

"Tron???"

"Girls."

Aile nodded. And she agreed. "Yeah. Girls."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aile: "Hey, did you end up grabbing your smokes?"
> 
> Tron: "Oh, yeah..."
> 
> Tron pulls a pack out of her pocket, pulls out a pink candy cigarette and places it in her mouth.
> 
> Aile: "Pffft...!"
> 
> Tron: "W-what?"
> 
> Aile: "Oh, nothing, I'm just a big fan of your tough girl act. It's cute."
> 
> Tron: "Buzz off..."


	3. Tightness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It feels rough, sometimes.

05/10/XX, 07:29AM

I'm zooming down a long, empty highway of Creamland on my motorcycle. I like this stretch of road near my house, runs near the shore, through some caves. It technically got shut down after they realized how dangerous it was--big accident, some cars went spinning and tumbled down into the water--but hey, never stopped me. It doesn't really go anywhere now, though. Sealed off at the end.

Aile's hanging with me, too. Literally. Looks so relaxed, ain't she worried about, I dunno... like, the buckle her PET's chained to breaking? That'd be dangerous. Get how dangerous that'd be, Aile? You're already swinging in the air right now! If that buckle snapped, you'd go flyin' away onto the damn concrete! It's... it's pretty dangerous!

... Whatever. She probably doesn't care.

We slow down and stop next to the cliffside. There's a sharp turn on the road where there should be a bit of fence, but, well... I like sitting next to the open corner where that fence used to be. Pull out some cigarettes and look out at the water.

For a moment, we just kinda sit there. A cold gust of wind blows through my jacket, sending a chill up my spine. My teeth shiver a bit, and while they chatter together, my cigarette slips out of my mouth and falls down into the water. "Sh-sh-shit..." I'm still shivering as I pull out another chalky white cigarette. Then, Aile asks me something. "Hey, Tron. Do you like how candy cigarettes taste?" Well... I wasn't gonna get away chewing sugary chalk to look cool without getting questioned about it some day. "Not really."

And with that, we just sit quietly for a while.

 

"God... What the hell am I even doing?"

What is this, the ninth time I've driven out here? Back in June, I said I'd get shit done. So why the hell am I back HERE again? Why am I talking about candy cigarettes? Why am I setting these huge goals for myself and then just... not even trying to accomplish them? What the hell is my problem? Why can't I do the most basic of shit? Why come up with all these grand fucking ideas if I'm not doing shit with them?! Why do I want to get back at some bullshit scilab asshole, when I can't even muster the effort to dump on all of his bullshit?!

I feel like that night with Pride was months ago now. It was just three days ago and I can't even remember if it actually happened. Maybe it didn't. Maybe I never met her. Maybe that was just a weird dream. It was just a weird dream. I'll never talk to Pride again, and Aile isn't going to ever mention that it ever happened.

"Hey, uh... Sometimes it's good to relax. Y'know, like your night with Pride."

Gah. Dammit.

DODODOOT! DODODOOT! Right then and there, the e-mail buzzer on Aile's PET just starts blaring in my ear. She awkwardly fills me in on who sent it.

"... It's your brother."

Oh.

Great.

"You don't have to read it to me." "You, uh... wanna read it yourself?" "No, I want to delete it and pretend it never existed." I take a deep sigh. "... But I guess that ain't happening."

Teisel... Where the hell do I even start with him?

Let's start with ignoring him.

 

"You've got another e-mail, Tron!" Crap. "This one's from Pride!" CRAP.

"W... what'sitabout?" Dammit. Aile's grinning. 

"Well... You DO have time to meet up with her, right?" I've never wished I didn't more in my life. I don't know if my legs could even hold steady to get me to her. "Christ... tell me where."

 

So that's how I ended up sitting in a corner table at a crepery with Princess Pride.

"So. Uh. A crepe shop. In Creamland." I'm at a loss for words, so all I can do while staring at Pride's face is say the obvious. She answers, elegant and cute, and a bit shaky. "Yes, well... I believe it opened quite recently. I've never eaten crepes before, so I just thought..."

...

"Aren't you like, royalty? I mean... you're the princess. You've eaten lots of fancy food, right? Crepes are kinda fancy, right? They probably serve these at like, fancy foreign parties, right...?" Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Pride's face is turning... pretty red. "Yes. Well. You, you see... that is..." She blinks twice. And just like that, the princess immediately starts digging into her fancy pancake. Well, whatever. Crepes are pretty good, I guess.

It doesn't take long after I've picked up my fork and taken a bite of mine that I feel my PET vibrate, nearly making me choke. "Are you okay?" Pride asks. "Y-yeah! I'm fine! I'm cool." I don't bother asking Aile who sent it.

I had a hard time finishing my crepe. Mostly cause I hated everything. I feel bad for Pride, calling me out for a date just for me to storm off before we could actually talk. I feel bad for Aile. I wanna sleep, but we need to work tonight.

Maybe we can go back there again some day, when I feel a little less worthless.

"... You sure you wanna do this tonight, Tron?" Aile asks. "... It might be better if you got some sleep." I wish I could. "Pff. Are you asking the ultra-badass hacker Tron Bonne to slack off? We've got a show to run here, Aile!"

 

It doesn't take a genius to see tonight isn't gonna get us any further than the last dozen or so nights of finding almost nothing... damn, maybe I shouldn't have eaten as much as I did. I feel sick.

"You okay?" Aile asks me. Isn't it kinda obvious...? "Hmph. What the heck's giving you that ide--urmph!!" FuckIcan'tactloudandincontrolrightnowaaaaaaagh!!! My fucking stomache is fucking twisting around in my guts! "... Just relax your voice tonight, okay? Don't try to act big for the servbots." Fuuuuuck... I'm feeling better now, but... Aile's probably right... Goddamn, that felt shitty...

"... Aile, what the hell are we doing?"

"Don't ask me, we're just doing what you asked, same as always."

"... What the hell am I telling you all to do...? The hell's even the point of this...? How does this even... just... how the fuck...?" I feel like I'm gonna throw up. Not cause I'm sick, but just because I have no idea what I'm doing.

"... You ever just sit and watch the servbots, Tron?" Huh...? I look over at some of the servbots... and they're just kind of sliding around and jumping in the snow together, slacking off like always. Some of them are writing up diagrams and... drawing maps together...?

"Look at 'em." Aile points to a trio of servbots goofing around in the snow, sliding on hills and making snow angels. "They're a bunch of cute, funny little goofballs. And you know what? They're all workin' on your side, even if a bunch of them look like they're just screwing around. Sure, we're all kinda unfocused and lazy and lost, but as long as you're here, we're all... working to something, you know? I don't think we'll be able to find any more zenny than the scraps we're getting as long as we stick around here... but hey, that's not stopping those little guys from trying. Don't think you're wasting your time, or not pushing yourself hard enough. I give you crap, Tron, but... we wouldn't be here without'cha. So, y'know. Sleep on it and figure out where you really wanna go, okay?"

"... God. This really is a waste of time, huh?"

I can't help but smile a bit.

"... Let's stay up a bit longer, then... just so these kids have some more time to play in the snow."

I've wasted a lot of time. But maybe that's alright. I guess even if it's not time spent pushing things forward...

"Heave-HO! Let's pull this green mystery data out for Miss Tron!" A pair of servbots unearth some blue mystery data buried under the snow. With a pop, the mystery data gets plucked out, and the pair celebrates. And when they pop it open... a PanelBreak E pops out. The pair looks really disappointed, but seeing it all happen, it kinda makes me chuckle.

Yeah... I'm okay with wasting time on stuff like this.

 

It's 3:30AM and my eyes hurt but I'm still staring at the monitor. The servbots all went to bed an hour ago, but for some reason I'm still awake. I feel like if I crash on my bed, though, I won't be able to sleep. Aile doesn't seem happy. I still feel sick from eating that crepe.

"Aile." My throat hurts. We were working for two and a half hours and I did too much shouting. "I want to read those e-mails from Teisel." Aile's looking at me, worried. "... You sure about this, Tron? This is already way past your bed time." Gah. "Just lemme read the damn emails. I know there's a third one." Aile sighs and opens them up on the monitor.

**SENDER: bigteisel@netmail.net  
** **RECIPIENT: tbonne@netmail.net  
**SUBJECT: Are you okay?****

********

********

****

****

**Hey, what's up? You haven't responded to any of my e-mails in a while. Well... I just want to know you're okay. It's almost been a year now, so I was worried about how you've been holding up.**

****

****

**Just get back to me, okay?**

The other two e-mails are just variations on the first, worrying cause I hadn't responded.

Teisel just... does this, sometimes. And I don't know what to say.

I don't know if there is anything I can say.

I think if I tried to say anything, things would only get worse...

 

"... Well. I'm gonna go die." Aile hates it when I talk like this. I do, too. "Good night, Aile." "Y-yeah... Good night, Tron..."

I don't think I'll have bad dreams tonight. I don't think I'll have any dreams tonight. I thought things might change after... what happened. But I guess I'm just too much of a mess. I can't even be a good troublemaker. I can't even pretend to be a real badass.

Maybe I'm not cut out for this shit.

"I... should just stop before I get myself into some kind of big mess, shouldn't I...?"


	4. Navi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it's hard to understand things clearly.

I hear a young girl's voice gently call out to me. "Hey. Are you enjoying the ride?" 

She's sitting across from me in the carriage, but with the blinding light of the sun shining through the carriage window, all my eyes can see is a dark silhouette. They can just barely recognize the thin smile on her face.

I respond, my voice shaking. "... I love spending time with you."

She laughs. "That's good... I was worried, you know."

Her smile doesn't change a bit.

 

 

"Aile?" A deep, chivalrous voice snaps me awake to find myself sitting on a chair in a warm, mostly empty net cafe in Creamland's net area.

"Whoops, I spaced out again, heheh..."

KnightMan sighs, disappointed. "Yet again? My friend, you have a very curious habit of doing this in the midst of our conversations." With his giant plated hand, he gently sips from a massive cup of coffee, pouring it through the front of his helmet, polite and mannerly like... a waterfall.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll try to pay more attention." The hulking purple knight shakes his head. "Ah, no... Aile, I am not attempting to lecture you for your behavior! Apologies if it came off that way. Were I in your position, I too would likely fall asleep, listening to the ramblings of a clearly senile old navi... still, I would appreciate if you would at least humor me! I mean, for heaven's sake, even our operators have gotten quite close in recent days."

I sigh. "Yeah... 'close'..." KnightMan stays silent for a moment. I can understand why. "Well... I can tell you that Miss Pride cares quite deeply. Not that she is any more effective at conveying her feelings. I almost feel ashamed that she's better able to express herself at the bottom of a can of beer than she can with her head straight. Such must be the appeal of alcohol, I suppose..."

"Doesn't sound too bad to me. You at least know what's up with her, right? Me and Tron have our own understanding. A really... really good understanding. Haha. Hah." I feel like I'm choking.

"Ah, don't beat yourself up over it, Aile. In my younger days, I was far more uncertain than you about how I could best aid Miss Pride. Those... were far from my finest days."

"Oh, yeah... didn't you two join up with Gospel? The... dangerous cyber-criminals...?"

"Yes. And I was deleted. And I barely have a memory of the moment it happened. I only know that it did."

When I look over at KnightMan, something about his glowing yellow eyes seems... different from normal. I can't think of anything to say, so I just keep listening.

"It wasn't just once, either. I pray I'm never enough of a fool for it to happen three times."

"... Why do you always talk about life lessons and philosophical stuff? I thought knights were all about honor and glory."

"Hah. If I had stories to boast of, we probably wouldn't be sitting in this cafe together right this moment." Naturally, the hulking suit of armor lifts up his coffee and gently sips more of it through his mask. "Truthfully, I'm not sure I'd want to have it any other way." He gently places his cup back down... I can't help but stare.

"A-aile? Is there something you want to ask?"

"... How do you even drink that stuff in, anyway?"

"Hm? Oh, well. That's a knight's secret."

"You're more comfortable sharing your near-death experiences working with a group of criminals than talking about how you drink coffee?"

"Hmph. They're not quite near-death experiences if I died." He takes another sip.

Yeah... I guess that makes sense.

For a minute, I just lie back staring out the window, across Creamland net's wide open fields of snow.

"Is there something troubling you? You're not normally this quiet." KnightMan asks me a question, slightly worried.

"Uh, it's nothing. I'm fine."

"Hm..."

"Really. Don't worry about me."

KnightMan quietly continues to "Hummm..." to himself. "Aile, have you ever been outside of Creamland's network?"

"Uh... no." I try to sound as honest as I can. I can be pretty good at lying when I want to.

"Hm... What would you say if I asked you to deliver something to someone in one of the Electopia net areas for me?"

"Deliver? Like, run all the way over and hand it to them? Can't you just e-mail it?"

"This is far too important for that. And it's a big file, it would take a fairly long time to send."

R-right... "Why are you asking me, though?"

"Well, you're quite fast. And besides, you'd like to stretch your legs a bit further than Creamland's net area, wouldn't you?"

"Uh... nah. I'm fine. I don't need to take on any work." Sorry to disappoint you, big guy...

... Is what I think I did, but I look over at him and he doesn't seem to have reacted at all. "Really? You're sure of that? I believe exploring outside Creamland's net might help you find a way to lend some aid to Tron." Uh... huh?

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever you cannot find here in Creamland's net, I can assure you will be found in much more abundance within the areas of Electopia. That's for certain." KnightMan laughs sadly to himself. "But more than that..."

"More than... w-what?"

"... Ahah, nothing!" Does he realize how weird he's coming off tonight...?

... But...

"... Well, if you say this could help, maybe I can do it."

"Hah! Really? I appreciate it, Aile. Here." KnightMan pulls out a small encrypted file and holds it out for me. I expected something bigger...

"... You really can't just e-mail this? It barely looks a megabyte large."

"It looks small, but you wouldn't believe how many different levels of compression it went through... Nonetheless, never judge a file by its cover. It's quite a fragile piece of data. Please, Aile, do be careful with it. Ah, but not at the expense of your own safety, of course."

I shrug and pick it up. It... doesn't feel all that big, or heavy.

"What... is it, exactly?" I ask. 

"Ah, nothing too special. Oh, and don't forget to tell Tron before you make your way to Electopia."

"U-uh, yeah... well... I'll--"

Right before I can get away, KnightMan stands up, says "Ah... I believe it's time to get back to my regular patrol, then." and heads for the door. After taking a few steps outside, he suddenly stops, turns back at me and shouts "I ALMOST FORGOT! DELIVER IT TO A NAVI WEARING A TALL, PINK HAT! HER NAME IS PRAIRIE! WELL, GOOD NIGHT, TRON! AND THANK YOU!" The chivalrous computer knight stiffens up, turns back around and marches off into the cold night time snow.

... My head's starting to hurt.

 

It's almost sunrise. Not that it matters much to Creamland's net. A little light doesn't do much for the freezing cold. This place stays empty and frozen over every hour of every day of every month.

The closed down shops and home pages dotting the area almost make it seem like a ghost town. Some of them left their signs hanging up, but... you can bet you won't find anyone manning them inside.

From what I heard, this whole net area didn't even open two years ago. It's a lonely place.

I look at the data KnightMan asked me to deliver. It's barely smaller than the palm of my hand.

... I guess I'll deliver it tomorrow.

 

 

Sure enough, as soon as I get back, Tron's still lying face-down on her bed. Just like she's been for... the last few days straight.

"... Have you eaten anything today, Tron?"

For a few seconds, she just continues to lie face-down, silently. Then she, with zero energy or drive, says "Peanut butter."

"Well, that's... food."

Tron continues to quietly lie face-down on her bed. Outside of her audibly loud, tired breathing, which I can hear from across the room.

"... Tron, can I, uh... ask permission for something...? Y-you don't have to say anything if the answer is no."

Tron rolls over and stares at the ceiling. "Sure."

"... Would it be okay if I, uh--"

"Go ahead. Do whatever. You're... yourself. Don't need to ask me." She flops back over and goes back to burying her face. I think I hear her mumble something, but she's not even lifting her head to talk so all I can hear is muffled.

"... O-okay, then. I'll... be over on Electopia's net in a little bit..."

I think she mumbles something in response, but... it's still muffled.

... Hah...

... I wonder if I'll ever be worth anything as a navi.


	5. Aile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keep yourself steady. Things can get pretty confusing.

There's a place I get sent whenever I mess up. Whether I like it or not, I always find myself back here. Don't worry, it's probably not the kind of place you're thinking of. It's just the streets. Well, if you can call the cyberworld of Electopia that, at least. I wouldn't call it comfortable.

I guess I've got a better reason to be here this time, at least. Maybe I can fix things before I mess up again... maybe. But I also have a pretty big history of messing up, so it's a shot in the dark. Heck, it's not even my idea. But... if there's anyone I can trust, I guess it's him. I'll take KnightMan's word for it.

... But still, I really wasn't ready for the shock of going from Creamland's net back to somewhere like Densan Town. That's right, Electopia's massive interconnecting networks dwarf my new home, huh? Not just with the people, but... with how much there is to walk and see.

Walking out from the alley housing the entrance to Creamland, I'm hit with massive walls of ads played on the sides of tall blue buildings. Dozens of navis pass by on the network's paths, making stops at local and commercial chains and the like. Just daily life for them and their operators. Well, if it's their continuing daily life, they're probably better at it than me.

Sheesh... there's so much noise here. And so many navis. So much activity, so much... well, whatever our operators tell us to do, I guess. Not much else to it.

... Hah...

... I wish KnightMan told me where to find Prairie...

Maybe I should just head b--"OOF!"

"Owch... s-sorry about that!" Maybe I should keep an eye on where I'm going, so I can make sure not to bump into short pink navis while walking through a park. "Ah, don't worry about it!" That's... what she's saying, but her face says "It's no problem, but you should watch where you're going! Ow!" 

 

"So you're having trouble looking for someone?" I thought she'd be more upset, but after getting up she just asked me if I needed any help or directions. So... I told her about how I'm looking for Prairie. "Don't you have their e-mail? Or a link to their homepage?" I awkwardly scratch my face. "Uh, well... it's not actually someone I know..." I pull out the small package KnightMan gave me. "Another navi just asked me to deliver this."

"They... didn't give you any kind of e-mail? Not a link, or even a key? Geeze, are you sure whoever this was wasn't just trying to mess with you?" If KnightMan could play tricks, I'd have to question the concept of honesty. "No way, they're... uh..."

Wait a sec... what is KnightMan? He pulled me into a cafe when I was freezing out in Creamland one night, and... now we just kind of get together there and talk every now and then...?

Maybe 'friend' would be too strong a word for navis... since the navis I would've called that a long time ago... well, I doubt I'll ever see them again. 'Partners' is, well... since when have we ever teamed up on anything? That whole date with Pride was something KnightMan set up, I didn't even know about it. I guess you could say we're... coworkers? Yeah, I guess that fits...

"Your friend?" Ack, I trailed off in my head for too long. "You know friends can pull pranks on each other, right...? Well, if you trust them that much, I guess I'll trust them, too." She places her finger on her chin, thinking. "But... if they didn't give you anything to go off of other than a name and a hat, all I can think is that you could go to the BBS and make a post about it. You might get lucky!" She points over to a nearby message board, labeled 'Social'. "You could even try that one over there!"

"Well, uh, thanks for the advice. And sorry for bumping into you!" I still feel like an idiot for that. "Oh, don't worry about it! What's your name, anyway?"

"Huh!? Uh, m-my name's... Aile.EXE."

"Aile, huh? I'm Roll! Nice meeting you!"

After saying goodbye, I try to walk away as fast as possible without anyone noticing that I'm walking away as fast as I can. I'll... just go check the BBS.

 

Well, Roll's advice helped, but probably not how she expected. I'm glad I'm not gonna have to make a post here, but I'm not sure how I should feel about this.

> POSTER: PRAIRIE.EXE  
>  TOPIC: To My Delivery Person  
>  MESSAGE: My friend e-mailed me and said you'd be coming by, but that they forgot to give you my address or e-mail. Sorry about that, he says it was late and his head was blanking a bit. I hope you'll forgive him! Come meet me at the net cafe Chip Moca, I'll treat you as an apology.
> 
> If you aren't my delivery person, and you're just reading this thread out of curiosity, sorry! This was the only way I could be sure to contact them, since my friend doesn't have their e-mail either.

The thread itself is one thing, but these replies... are another.

> POSTER: ANGUILLE.EXE  
>  MESSAGE: Wow! Miss Prairie is inviting someone to a cafe! I wish I could have the courage to go out somewhere with Miss Prairie!!!

> POSTER: THON.EXE  
>  MESSAGE: A dinner date with Prairie, huh? I dunno who the lucky Navi is, but they'd better show her some manners and treat her with respect!... But, hah, I doubt any two-bit punk would have the stones to be rude to Prairie!

> POSTER: Oeillet  
>  MESSAGE: Prairie's directions are kinda vague, so if you need any help finding Cafe Moca, it's on the corner just down the road to your left. Good luck with the delivery, mystery Navi!

> POSTER: CEDRE.EXE  
>  MESSAGE: Hmph. Whoever Mademoiselle Prairie has extended such an invitation to, I doubt their beauty can come close to matching my own. Really, I find it difficult to understand why the madame is granting such an invitation to a common errand person... but I suppose, in the end, I must accept it. Delivery person, if you are reading this... I demand that you enjoy your date with madame Prairie, in my stead!

> POSTER: CARRELET.EXE  
>  MESSAGE: Hm. Really, Anguille...
> 
> ~~In case you see this, delivery person, if you require more specific directions to Cafe Moca, simply take a left from this BBS across the street and then take a right on the sidewalk. Make sure to look both ways before crossing, but don't waste too much time. Your safety may be important, but when it comes to work, you should place the client above all else. Caution is no excuse for lazy work. If you take your job seriously, as you obviously should, then you should already know this.~~
> 
> ~~And if you think something as trivial as "if I get hurt, I can't deliver the package", then stop that thought right now. You shouldn't let simple injuries keep you from getting the job done, even if things do come to that. If you're on the job, you're on the job. Work hard, don't play around and don't make excuses.~~
> 
> ~~I may only have been active for six months, but I know to prize hard work over all else. If you think the same, then please show it. I don't know your name, or your face, but I can still respect you for your work ethic.~~
> 
> EDIT: I see Oeillet already gave directions to Cafe Moca while I was typing this. Apologies for supplying redundant information. I'll strike it out.

Geeze, who have I gotten roped up in delivering to...?

I... guess I should get going to the Cafe Moca?

 

At least, that was my plan. But I've been waiting on this crossing signal for a while now. I don't remember net traffic being this bad, but I guess I've spent the past three months in a place that barely gets any visitors at all. Well, at least I'm waiting here alo--

**CLANG!!!**

"H-hey! I told to watch your head, 03!!!"

"I-I-I-I'm sooooorrrrrrryyyy...!!! Owowowowow...!!!"

... Huh.

As soon as I look over to my right, I see 'em. A pair of servbots. Not just any, either, but 03 and 05. The one who woke me up the other morning, and... the one who pretty much devotes every moment to protecting them like some kinda tiny superhero. "03! Are you okay?! Do you need any help?! H-how can I help?! 03, talk to me!!!" 05 looks threateningly at the pole 03 bumped their head into. "T-that's it! You hurt 03, you jerk! You're gonna pay for this!"

"N-no, I'm okay, 05! D-don't hurt them! I'm f-f-fine! I'll be all better in a few s-seconds! B-but it does still hurt a lot! Owchie!" But it's too late. 05 has a look of furious determination in their eyes. Raising their arms into the air, they rush at the pole with both arms outstretched. And then...

Hugging the pole really tightly, they yell in a tiny voice while attempting to use their strength to uproot the pole from the ground. "C-c-c'mooooooooooooon!!! Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!" "N-no, 05! Stop! You'll only hurt yourself if you try to pull it that hard!!! 05!!!"

... I should probably say something. "Uh... hey?"

The moment I speak, all of 05's intensity vanishes and 03 freezes up. Then, 03 starts to cry. "W-w-w-we got spotteeeeeeed!!! I'm so sorry, M-Miss Aaaaaaiiiiiiile!!!" Whoa, geeze. "Uh... are you two doing alright...? You don't have to cry or anything, I'm not gonna yell..." Okay, they're still crying, I guess words aren't gonna cheer this kid up. Let's try... patting them on the head?

"I'm s-so s-s-sorry Miss Aile!!! It was all my idea!!! I was so wo-wo-wo... wow... I'm getting p-patted on the head by Miss Aile... hahaha..." Guess that works. "W-what the...?!" Uh oh, 05 seems kinda angry. Or... are they jealous? Maybe servbots just like this sort of thing. "Hey 05, come over here." "W-w-what?!? N-no way! And q-quit patting 03 on the head like that, Miss Aile!!!" So much for that theory, I guess. "Well, I'll ask you two what the heck you're doing later. Right now, the light's finally green. C'mon!"

"R-roger!" Both servbots chime out in unison. I hope Prairie's okay with buying lunch for three.

 

The Cafe Moca's entrance is welcomingly plain. A mix of different shades of blue, just like the city itself, the interior is small, but not too packed. Well, that's a bit of an understatement. There are only a few tables taken, but more conspicuously, only two occupied booths. You can probably guess that the person sitting in one of those booths is wearing a pink hat.

"Miss Aile, is this a c-coffee shop? Isn't there one like this that you go to in Creamland?" 03 asks. "Yeah, but I probably don't drink as much coffee as you think." I look over at 05, who's tensed up and keeping their eye on 03 and the surrounding area. I pat them on the head. "G-gah! Cut that out, Miss Aile!" Heh. "Relax, we're gonna go inside and hang with someone for a little bit. You and 03 can probably get something to eat or drink, too, if you want."

For some reason, 05's head flares up a bright red. "E-eat with 03?! D-don't be ridiculous, Miss Aile! I'm 03's bodygua--" But before they can finish talking, 03 starts jumping up and down shouting "Wow! I'm gonna eat at a net cafe with Miss Aile and 05! Let's go, go, go!!!" Guess that settles that. 05 just mumbled "A-alright, sure..." and went quiet. I push open the door to the net cafe, holding it for the two little servbots after entering. Finally, we all head for the booth occupied by the navi wearing a big pink hat.

I'm not sure how I could describe them. Even just sitting alone in a booth with a cup of coffee, she had a sort of grace to her. It isn't really gentle or elegant, just... a grace. She's got a simple pink and grey coat that combined with her attention-grabbing pink cap, makes her look like some kind of commander. She's got long, blonde hair that looks really nice, too, with her bangs swept widely to the side of her eyes, poking out the front of her hat. She's also carrying a... white doll...?

Suddenly, she speaks. "Ah, are you the navi KnightMan sent? Sorry about all this. Take a seat, I'll pay for your order, okay?" For some reason, I'm having trouble moving my legs. "U-uh, o-o-okay." Whoa, come on, can I not speak properly either? I'm practically having to drag myself onto the seat opposite Prairie. Oh, I almost forgot to mention... "Hey, a couple friends tagged along with me. Is that okay?" Prairie looks over at 03 and 05, smiles, and nods while the two servbots blush. "Sure! I'll cover whatever they order too, they can both sit together on the other side of the table."

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a second! "Uh... are you sure--?" ... I almost say, but it doesn't take too much thinking to realize that 05 would never let that happen. Well, maybe they would right now since they look so red that I'm not sure they can even register anything that's happening around them, but they'd definitely blow up eventually once they realized someone else was sitting right next to 03. "A-alright, uh, t-t-thanks." I'm not sure why, but even as I'm sliding into the booth to sit next to Prairie, I just can't stop thinking about what's happening. What the heck is wrong with me this time? Am I malfunctioning again? I mean, navis aren't programmed to feel like this, right? Is it just me...?

"Is there anything any of you would like from here? I really like the donuts you can get at this place." That voice feels way too close. "I'll eat a donut! I-if that's okay!" Well, at least 03's just as excited as ever. "Haha, alright then! What about you, uh...?" Oh yeah, Prairie doesn't know their... actually, I guess they're more number designations than names. "The one on the left's 03 and the one on the right's 05." I chime in. "03 and 05...? Hm..." I wonder if she thinks calling them by numbers is awkward...

"Well, do you want anything, 05?" The tomboyish servbot grumbles. "I'm not here to eat anything! I'm just makin' sure 03 doesn't get hurt, by somethin' or someone." Whoa, kid, watch your tone around strangers. "I get it. I'll order you the same thing as your partner, then."

Prairie pulls out a menu and taps on one of the entries twice, and then swipes her finger across it. Then, two donuts almost as big as their heads materialize in front of the servbots. "Yay!!!" 03 grabs their donut with both hands and starts chomping down. 05, on the other hand, hesitates, staring at Prairie. "H-hey! I told you I don't--" But they're interrupted by 03, who, still chewing, says "Mph! Oh-fife, you should each up, choo! Theshe are delicioush!" Reluctantly, 05 shuts up and starts eating their donut.

I've been living with these two for a few months now, huh? I wonder why it took me this long to notice all this about them...

"So, uh..." Shocking me awake, Prairie's turned to me, and is talking, to me. Now that I think about it, I didn't tell her my name yet. "Uh, I'm A-Aile."

For some reason, Prairie gives me the warmest smile. I'm not sure how to describe the way it makes me feel. It just... makes me feel. "Aile, huh? Well, I'm Prairie. Glad to meet you!" I think I'm going to overheat... "Y-yeah! Nice to meet you too...!"

I expect her to ask me for her package, but... she just kinda sits for a second, looking at me. I anxiously scratch my face waiting for her to say something. Finally, she talks. "Is there something you'd like to order, Aile? Remember, I'm paying, so you can get whatever you want."

"H-huh? Oh, uh, I don't need anything. I'm alright."

"Are you sure about that? You came all the way here from Creamland, Aile! I'd feel bad about not at least getting you something to a drink."

"N-no, really, I'm okay. It wasn't a long walk. I mean, do navis even need to drink or eat anything, anyway...?"

"Yes, of course. Just because you're a navi doesn't mean you don't deserve something to eat or drink after some hard work, Aile!" O-oh, did she hear me...?

"L-look, do you want your package or not? Are you even gonna ask me about it?"

"You can deliver the package to me after I buy you a drink. It wouldn't be right for me to accept it without a bit of advance pay, right? So what'll it be, Aile?"

"Why do you keep using my name?! We just met! D-do you want your package or not?!"

... Uh oh...

"... I mean, uh... just... get me some water..."

I... I messed up again, huh...? I guess I just can't open my mouth for five seconds without doing this. Hah. Seriously... why...?

Suddenly, a glass of water and a sandwich appear in front of me, purchased by Prairie. Her voice is a bit quieter now. "Sorry. You're right. That was weird for me to do. I'm... I'm sorry about that. Really, really sorry. I'll... take the package." ... Huh...?

"Oh, right, here you go." I, uh... hand her the package. "T-thank you." She says quietly. For a few moments, the only sound is that of 03 and 05 munching on their donuts.

Then, Prairie asks me a question. "Aile, sorry if this is kind of weird to ask, but do you remember... n-never mind, actually, it... it is a pretty weird question."

"O-oh. Alright." If she was going to ask me to remember anything, I probably wouldn't answer, anyway...

... What am I doing here?

"... Well, here's your payment for the delivery." Prairie hands me chip data, along with... 10000 zenny!? "H-huh? That much?! A-and what's this chip data?"

"Heh, well, it's a little gift from me. It has some of my data on it, so if you're ever in a bind, use it and a little part of me will give you a hand. It's the least I can do, after all."

"A-are you serious...? Is this the kind of thing you just hand to a total stranger?"

"I guess I'm just a very trusting navi, hehe."

I want to say You're definitely a weird one, but... there's no way I could make myself say that out loud. Besides, it's not like I can call someone else weird. I guess I'll just say... "Well... thanks."

"You're very welcome!"

After what feels like an eternity, the two servbots finally finish eating. 03 looks stuffed and happy. "Wwoooww... That was the biggest donut I've ever eaten...!" 05, on the other hand, looks considerably... wobblier, clutching their stomache. "G-geh...! I'll be f-fine! I can handle that much donut...!"

"Well, judging by these two, I guess it's time to get going." I gulp down my whole glass of water, and grab the sandwich Prairie bought for me. "Oh, you're leaving already..." For a moment, I think Prairie almost looks sort of disappointed. "Well, have a safe trip back to Creamland."

"T-thanks..." Awkwardly, I get up from my seat. "And..." I'm suddenly stopped by Prairie's voice. Turning around, it still makes me feel... weird, to see her smiling at me like that. "... if you're ever in the area again, feel free to contact me. I'll be sure to lend you some help whenever you need it." Slightly shaking, I nod my head. "Uh, t-thanks for the offer, uh... Prairie..."

Still shaking, I look over to the two servbots. "C-c'mon, you two, let's get home!"

"Roger!" The two servbots slide out of the booth. Before we get moving, 03 turns around to Prairie, smiles, and waves. "Thanks for the donuts, Miss Prairie! Bye!" 05 continues to clutch their stomache, grumbling. I take one last look at Prairie, sitting alone, smiling and waving at me. "S-see ya... Prairie..." I mumble as loud as I can. Finally, we leave the net cafe.

 

"That was so fun, Miss Aile! I wish we could all come here every day, and bring the other servbots! And Miss Tron!" Standing outside on the sidewalk, watching the traffic drive by, 03 laughs and shouts about how much fun they had. I look over at 05 who, despite their grumbling, seems like they mellowed out a lot. "Hey." I nudge them.

"H-huh? What do you want, Miss Aile?... Are you gonna ask why we were following you?"

"Nah. It doesn't really matter."

"Doesn't? You're... weird, Miss Aile."

"Yeah... I guess I am."

"A-ah, don't take it personally, Miss Aile! I... um... I... had fun today. I only tagged along with 03 cause they were so worried I couldn't get them to stop panicking. But... eating at that cafe, with you and that Prairie person... made 03 really happy. So I'm happy."

"Huh. I'm surprised you servbots can be so committed to each other." I guess at some point I assumed they all existed just to help out Tron. Just like any navis are around to help out their operator. Just like how any programs are around to execute whatever they're programmed for. I guess I figured all the servbots' antics were... programmed, or something.

"G-gah! Don't tease me, Miss Aile!"

I take a few steps forward, in front of the two servbots and turn around to look at them both.

For some reason though, when I look at these two... it kinda makes me think that might not be totally right. I dunno why. But after tonight, calling these two by numbers just... doesn't feel right.

"Hey, you two." 03 and 05 both look at me, curious. "Y-yes, M-Miss Aile?" "What is it, Miss Aile?"

This feels so weird to suggest... "Have either of you... ever considered having nicknames?" ... but using numbers after this is gonna feel weirder to me, I guess.

"N-names? M-Miss Tron's never given us a-anything like that, b-but... s-she did always s-say it was okay for us t-to..."

"... I'd... like to call 03 by a nickname... actually..."

As if detonating an explosion of energy, the moment those unexpected words come out of 05's mouth, 03 is giddy with excitement, practically using every line of their code to keep themself from hopping up and down. "I-I-I-I-I-I-- M-m-m-me t-too!!!"

"A-alright then, uh... wanna come up with your own names right now?" With 03 still in a panic, I turn to 05. "Huh? M-me?! Wait a sec, uh, uhhh...! I guess... 03, you like flowers, so... how about... Daisy?"

Immediately, Daisy is snapped to a sense of clarity. "D-daisy...? W-wow... I... I love it! Daisy! Daisy Daisy Daisy! M-Miss Aile, can you... can you call me Daisy, too?!"

Whoops, I'm getting put on the spot. "S... sure thing, Daisy." Daisy squeals with joy at being called by their name. "W-woooowww... Daisy..." If I hadn't seen this servbot tonight, I don't think I'd have believed they could get this hyper.

Alright, and as for 05... whoops. Now I think they're overwhelmed from Daisy using the name they gave them. I'll give them another nudge. "H-huh?! Miss Aile, what th--oh... y-yeah, D... Daisy... well, for me, I want a cool name! Something like... Ultimate B--" "SUNNY!"

In a move nobody could have expected, Daisy, in a sudden moment of coherency, shouted out their own suggestion for Sunny's name. "A flower's best friend is the sun! Sunny!"

"... Yeah that." Well, with Sunny's face as red as this...

"Isn't it about time we all headed back?"

"R-roger!" Zapping out of the net, the two servbots jack back out to their PETs. What a day...

And suddenly, I hear a familiar voice from somewhere behind the computer screen. "Daisy and Sunny, huh? ... Cute names." "T-Tron!?" Well, I guess there isn't anyone else it could be...

"Yeah... sorry for watching behind your back. Just... thought about you heading off into the net on your own, and, uh... got a bit worried. About myself staying rolled up in bed while the world keeps moving around me, and about you going off somewhere on your own. I was, uh... watching since you bumped into that cute pink navi in the park, actually."

I can't really understand how or why, but deep in my chest, Tron's words hit me harder than I expect. It's in the way her voice is shaking slightly. Her voice sounds the same as always, but I don't remember many times I've heard it shake like this. I don't know why she's saying this to me. I'm not sure why I'm something to worry about. She was probably just worried that I'd mess something up. That's probably it. I shouldn't take it the way I am.

"... I think she liked you, by the way. Roll, I mean. That Prairie person, too. Heh. What'd you do to get so popular, Aile?"

I don't know.

"... Uh, sorry. What I really want to say is..."

I'm not ready to hear this. Not from another operator.

"... Good work, Aile. And thanks. You've been able to connect with the servbots and keep things steady way better than I could. I'm gonna try and get back off my ass. Again, uh...

**Thanks."**

Tron finishes talking. I don't know how to feel. I don't know how I feel. It's an old feeling. I don't think I've felt this for a long time. I don't think. I forgot Navis could feel like this. I forgot I could feel like this. I forgot this was a feeling. I forgot I could feel.

I still don't know what I forgot. I know I forgot something. I think I forgot a lot of things. I think my head ran out of space and instead of clearing it up it turned it all into junk. I think my head is filled with so much junk that I forgot to dig through the junk to hold onto what made me feel good.

I think I might've been a bit of an idiot.

"I want to feel good about myself."

"Uh... did you say something, Aile?"

"Tron, gimme a sec. I'm gonna eat a sandwich."

"... What kind?"

I take a bite of the sandwich. "... Grilled cheese with onions."

"Heheh, what? I... didn't know you liked grilled cheese or onions, Aile." Tron laughs.

"Yeah. Me neither." The onions might be a bit too strong, though...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's worth keeping your head together, even if you already feel like it's falling apart.
> 
> And I still prefer them plain but grilled onions on a sandwich aren't bad.


End file.
